


A Choice

by Whatsup121



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU from Homecoming throughout the rest of the movies, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter makes a different choice in Homecoming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25512784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whatsup121/pseuds/Whatsup121
Summary: "You'll fit right in." A single choice can change everything. And a single choice can have drastic consequences, and Peter will discover how difficult it can make his life. Peter makes a different choice at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 19





	1. A Different Path

“No”

“Are you sure, Peter? Once you say no, you say no.”

“No…… Actually, Mr. Stark, I think I would like to join the Avengers. On one condition, I still live and work mostly in New York. Then I could come out here, train, and do missions. I feel like I could help a lot of people as an Avenger, but I still want to help out the little people, you know?”

“Totally, kid, now get dressed so we can go talk to those reporters. You’ve finally made it to the big leagues.” Tony smirked entering the back room filled with mobs of reporters.

Peter whistled. His new suit looked so cool. The suit had a couple of major differences from his current (or old, depending on if you count when Tony took it away) suit. For one, the black spider on the front was no longer tiny, it is now gigantic, the black legs of the spider trailing all the way around the suit. It also seemed as if his lenses had become somewhat larger. The same red and blue were there, but somehow the suit just gave off a futuristic kind of feel. As Peter finished looking over these upgrades, he stared at the new mask in his hands, slightly nostalgic.

“I guess I'm an Avenger now,” Peter talked to himself.“I just started being Spider-Man eight months ago. This is happening so fast, but I can help so _many_ people. Come on, Parker, pull it together. Its the day I've been waiting for, to _finally become an Avenger,_ be in the _big leagues.”_

After just a few more seconds of gaining self-confidence, Peter pulled on the mask becoming Spider-Man. He walked straight into the room.

“ _How is Spider-Man going to be involved with the Avengers after this point?”_

_“Are you finally going to show your true identity?”_

_“Is the Menace finally apprehended?”_

_“Will you help track down the rogue Avengers?”_

_“Who will protect New York?”_

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to welcome you all here. I promise all of— _most of_ your questions will be answered. As you can see, Spider-Man is now an Avenger. Thank you,” Tony said in his concise way of speaking to reporters.

The crowd surged forward, grabbing out, each reporter desperate to get their own scoop. Spider-Man froze, clearly not used to the paparazzi.

“And let’s go, kid” Tony said clearly done with the press.

So he grabbed Peter and pulled him away from the clingy press.

“Ugh, reporters never change, tell them one thing, and they go gaga over it. At least I was civilized, Pepper made me. Anyways, now I can take you to your room.”

“ _My room?_ I have my own room? No way!”

“Of course you do, what, did you think I sold off my tower because I needed money? I’m a genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist. Key word _billionaire_ , I'm not just going to make everyone _share_. _Ew._ I don't even think I know how to share. So yes, you have your _own_ room.”

“ _Wow._ Thank you. I don't even know what to say.” Peter stammered.

“You didn't have to say anything. You’re Welcome.”

They walked down a series of hallways, Tony pointing out various rooms, the training room, kitchen, and weapons room (where they store the suits), just to mention a few. Finally, they arrived to Peter’s room, which happened to be right next to Vision’s.

“Yeah, so as I mentioned earlier when we were talking about you joining the Avengers, your room is next to Vision’s. He lacks personal borders, just warning. He might pop out through the wall. He’s still getting used to Earth customs. Gotta go, I have Accords stuff to do.” Tony then briskly walked out of the room.

Peter flopped down on the bed, which was the only piece of furniture in the room, seeing as it was up to him to decorate it. It was then that he finally realized.

“ _I’m actually an Avenger.”_


	2. Encountering Avengers

Peter woke up the next morning left in a daze, _still_ quite not believing he was an Avenger, one of the greatest heroes of all time, that he now has to use his great power for responsibility of the world.

“Crap,” Peter cursed as he bolted straight up from the bed. “I forgot to tell Aunt May where I was going!”

He quickly dialed her number, immediately put it on speaker, and waited, shoving his face in his palms while the phone rang.

“This is bad, _really, really bad._ She's probably called like twenty different police stations, all of my friends, maybe even the whole _city-”_

_“Hello?”_

“Uhhh- Hey, Aunt May. H-how are you doing?” Peter chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

“ _PETER! I thought you died! You are lucky that Ned ended up calling me late last night saying you were spending the night at his house.”_

“Um yeah, right, I spent the night at Ned’s” _Note to self, I owe Ned one. “_ I’m sorry, I completely lost track of time, Tony took me to his new workplace since he sold Avengers Tower off. He ended up showing me around, which took up about most of yesterday and then… I somehow got to… Ned’s… house” Peter half-lied through his teeth.

“ _Tony? Tony Stark? I thought you lost the internship?”_ Aunt May asked slightly confused.

“Ohh, yeah, I might have gotten that back” He admitted sheepishly.

“ _What! This is great! Peter, you could have told me earlier, I wouldn't have gotten so angry and worried.”_

“Yeah, I had to prove I was capable to Mr. Stark, but after I did, he offered me back the internship. One requirement though is that I have to go upstate every weekend to help out at their new headquarters.”

_“Of course you can go up every weekend, I just want to make sure you have all the opportunity you can get. It’s never too early to be thinking about college you know,”_

_College, normal teenage stuff, Aunt May shouldn't have to deal with all of this,_ Peter felt slightly guilty. _She just worries for me, and wants me to be happy, I should tell her._

“Aunt May…… There’s something I want to tell you,”

_“Okay, what is it?”_

_“_ …..Ummm……………”

“ _Peter, you can tell me anything, I will always love you, no matter what.”_

_“_ I just wanted to say…….” _Come on! Tell her who you are, that you’re Spider-Man._ “I love you, and I want to thank you for all that you do for me.” Peter finished, mentally berating himself for not uttering three words, _I am Spider-Man_.

“ _I love you too. So, I will see you at home for our usual Saturday night home cooked meal?”_

_“_ Yeah I will-AHH!” Someone had walked through the wall.

“ _Peter, what’s going on? Are you okay?”_

The android, who Peter now recognized as Vision, studied him intently, _“_ I see that you are the newest recruit, Spider-”

Peter quickly cut him off, his phone was still on speaker. “Yeah, I’m fine Aunt May, ….. uhhh… Ned slipped while getting out of the shower…. And his towel fell down. I have to go, I'll see you later. Bye!” He ended the call.

“Dude, so not cool! My Aunt doesn't know I’m Spider-Man.”

“Was I supposed to use the door?”

“Yeah,” It dawned on Peter that Vision was a newly created android. “But it’s okay. You can walk through walls?”

“Of course, the Infinity stone on my head enables me many different abilities.”

“Woah that’s amazing!” Peter fired question after question, Vision barely managing to answer them, looking as uncomfortable as an android could be.

…..

“There you are kiddo!” Tony burst through the door. “We are having a group training session, it’s time you actually get to meet the Avengers, well the legit ones anyways.”

Spider-Man and Vision stared at him.

“Oh so I see you met Vision, told you he lacks personal space, but we’re working on that. Wait, did you sleep in the suit?”

Peter touched his face, feeling the texture of his new mask. “Oh,” He shrugged. “Not the first time I’ve done it.”

“…Okay…… Come on, let’s go before we have a furious Black Widow on our hands.”

…..

Peter gaped in awe. The training room was _huge,_ Peter had expected it to be, but he didn't expect _this._ They had walked all the way to another building of Avenger’s Compound. It seemed to be that each Avenger had their own gym fit with equipment that matched their style of fighting. The actual training room was an arena for Avengers to spar against each other.

“Hey, Spidey, wanna see your gym?” Tony smirked.

Peter could only numbly nod, still amazed by all the perks of being an Avenger. Tony led him down a hallway with labels on each doorway to each gym.

“Let’s just skip right past these few,” Tony gestured to a couple of labels covered in slight dust.

_Captain America, Hawkeye, Falcon, Scarlet Witch,_ Peter read the labels. “Are we going to have to hunt them down?”

“I hope not, Underoos,” Tony seemed somewhat downtrodden. “But let’s not talk about that, okay?”

They walked down the long hall in silence.

“Well, here we are.”

Peter’s jaw dropped to the floor. Half of his gym was on the roof, obviously personally made for him. There was gymnastics equipment, weights, mats, punching bags, basically anything he could ever think of needing.

“……I…..I don’t think I could possibly ever use all of this.”

“You can and you will. Who knows how many psychotic and mentally unstable villains are out there?”

“Wow, again, thank you. This new suit, room, gym….. just being an Avenger, this is amazing.”

“No need to thank me, just passing the Avenger mantle to the next generation. Now, we _really_ need to get back. I hope Nat takes out her frustration on the punching bags and not us.”

…..

“Seriously, Tony? You brought the kid?”

“You did say we are having an _Avenge_ r training session.”

“Yeah, but we didn't exactly have a vote on whether or not to make _him_ one. He’s just a kid.”

“I am the _leader._ I tried to resign from the position, but _no,_ I’m forced back into the position after the Accords. _You betrayed us_ , you don't get a say in this. You’re lucky that even though you backstabbed _us all,_ I still consider you a friend and convinced Ross not to send you to the Raft, in some Supermax floating ocean pokey. So you don't get a say in this.”

“Uhhh, I’m sorry to interrupt, but it’s not worth it to argue over me, and aren’t there supposed to be more of us?” Peter gestured to the mostly empty training arena, consisting of Tony, Natasha, Vision, and himself.

“Rhodey’s still doing physical therapy for his paralyzation, he’s trying to get used to his new high tech leg braces. Wakanda wanted it’s king back, so T’Challa is in Wakanda. Steve and his little band of Merry Men are fugitives, and the UN is chasing them down. As you can see, we are short on recruitment.” Tony bitterly pointed out to Natasha.

“Fine. I’ll help train him, if he dies, that’s on you.”

…..

Peter crashed to the ground for what seemed like the thousandth time.

“Again”

Spider-Man slowly got off the ground, wincing at the bruises he had gained in the last two hours, and sent a flying roundhouse kick at Black Widow. She quickly grabbed his foot, twisted it, and Spidey quickly met his demise lying face first on the ground.

“You have to learn to expect the unexpected. Keep on your toes, don’t rely completely on your spider-sense, it’s helpful to have, but there are ways to over counter it. Make yourself unpredictable.”

“Got it, but if you don’t mind, is it okay if I leave now? I can come back, but I have to get back to New York City by dinner, and it takes at the very least four to five hours to get back. Aunt May hates it when I’m late and” Peter glanced at the clock. “…..It’s already two.”

Black Widow sighed, “Go, but be here every weekend. You’ll need all the training you can get.”

Peter jumped off the ground running back to his room , hurrying to take off his suit. After he changed, currently wearing the clothes he wore yesterday, he balled his new suit up and tossed it in his backpack.

“Well, you seem to be in a rush to get somewhere.” A certain billionaire was leaning in the doorway.

“Great, you’re here, Mr. Stark. Do you think you could get Happy to take me back to New York?”

“Sure, whatever you need.”

“Oh, and is Karen still in my suit?” Peter had pushed past Tony, half-way out the door.

“Karen?”

“The A.I.”

“Yeah, why would I ever take it out?”

“Okay, uhh- can you by chance take the Instant Kill mode out? I don’t kill.”

“Later, kiddo, not when you’re rushing to meet your incredibly hot aunt.”

“No, gross, no, no, _no,_ not with my _aunt”_ Peter shut down any fantasy of Tony dating his aunt. With that, Peter left, getting in a car with Happy. Ready to suffer through a _long_ drive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man... I used to write such short chapters. Lol, well I hope you guys liked this! This chapter was written such a long time ago... its definitely weird to review my old writing. I think this chapter was written sometime in 2017, like a week or two after the previous chapter.


	3. A Regular Average Day

“Do you think Mr. Stark has a suit car?” Peter had been annoying Happy for _hours_.

“A suit car?” Happy exasperated.

“You know, like a car that turns into a suit. Everything else Mr. Stark owns is a suit. His watch, his suitcase,—”

“Ok, _ok_ , I get it, stop rambling.”

“When do you think my next mission is? Now that I’m an Avenger I’ll bet that I’ll be able to do all kinds of missions.”

“Kid, shut up.”

“Did your mom name you Happy because you were a happy child? I’m certainly not getting that kind of vibe from you.”

“Kid, look, I’m grateful you saved my job and everything, but if you don’t shut up right now I’m going to explode.”

Peter immediately stopped talking, he didn't exactly want Happy to hate him.

“……..One last question, is this how every week is going to go?”

“Yes,” Happy promptly shut the window separating the passenger seats from the front seats.

“Why do all of our conversations end up like this?” Peter mumbled to himself.

Silence answered him for the rest of the ride.

…..

After a couple hours of sitting alone in his thoughts, the car came to a stop.

“Finally!” Peter jumped out, he was feeling more than a bit hyperactive after sitting still so long.

Happy rolled down his window. “Ok, here’s the deal, be here every Friday as soon as you get out of school, bring a bag, you’ll be staying all weekend. You may be an Avenger, but you’re still an irresponsible kid. No missions until you’re ready.” The limo drove off back to Avenger’s Compound, leaving Peter eating dust.

“ _Hey!_ I’m not _just_ some irresponsible kid! I did manage to take down the flying vulture guy…. After I got beat up…. A lot…..But that’s not the point! I am responsible! I can handle doing missions!” Peter called out after the limo, but he was too late, Happy was long gone.

Huffing, Peter walked into his apartment building, going up five flights of stairs to reach his and Aunt May’s apartment. Opening the door, the aroma of a home cooked dinner filled out the entire living room.

“Aunt May! I’m home!” Peter called out, checking his watch, he had made it on time for once.

Aunt May walked out of the kitchen wearing an apron. “Peter, you’re here. I made your favorite, spaghetti and meatballs. I couldn’t figure out that other recipe, I kept burning it, but we did go out to get larb last time so that wasn’t a complete disaster.”

“Aunt May, I’ll love anything you will cook.” Peter complimented, but slightly grimaced at the thought of some “new” recipes she had tried out over the years.

Peter quickly washed his hands, Aunt May made it a rule to always clean up before dinner, or any meal in fact. They sat down and ate in silence, with the occasional offhand comment here and there. Which was kind of unusual, Peter is talkative, and with recent events, he should be elated. Peter felt guilt, he could have done better. Mr. Delmar’s grocery store is in complete ruins, and the whole entire coast is trashed, debris littering the beach, and blackened sand from the fire.

“Is Mr. Delmar going to be alright?” In the adrenaline and stress filled week he had, he forgot to check up on how his friend was doing.

“I think so, he was just telling me earlier that he would’ve had to close the store down if the DODC (Department of Damage Control) didn’t take care of it. His insurance didn't cover the damage. Now, I don’t exactly trust that Tony Stark, but that was a pretty good thing for him to do paying for the DODC to help people like him.”

Peter sighed in relief, it would’ve killed him inside if Mr. Delmar had to lose his business, because Peter couldn’t stop some bank robbers. He hated to think that he could have destroyed a family, he couldn’t let that happen, _not again_ , not after Uncle Ben. Speaking of which, he had to make sure he kept his oath to himself.

“Hey, um.. Aunt May, I have to get some homework done. Is it okay if I go up to my room to do it?” Peter had finished eating during the silence that had filled the room.

“Yeah, of course. There’s just one thing I want you to promise me. I know that you love that internship with Stark, but I just want to make sure he’s not taking advantage of you. I want you to promise me that you’ll stand up to him if he ever does that.”

Peter was confused, if anything Mr. Stark was helping Peter out by giving him the suit and everything. “Uhhh… What do you mean by that?"

“I mean your talent and hard work. You spend so much time helping him, and you’re such a smart boy. I don’t want some playboy taking the amazing person that you are, and molding you into something that you’re not.”

“T-thanks,” Peter stuttered, praise felt foreign, he was used to constant critiques and lectures from the people around him. “I promise, Aunt May, but Mr. Stark only wants to help me reach my full potential. If he tries anything, I promise I will tell you about it.”

“Ok, now go on, you have homework to do.”

“Yes ma’am,” If only Peter was _actually_ going to do homework.

…..

“Wooohoooo!” Peter loved the feeling of swinging, he guessed it came from being part genetically spider.

“Help!” His enhanced senses picked up a young woman calling out in an upcoming alley.

Two men were cornering the young woman. Though now that Spidey had them in his sights, he could tell why. The young woman had an air about her that screamed money--not to mention, she happened to have a large wad of cash sticking out of her purse. She was the perfect prey for any thugs looking to steal some cash. Other than that, it was a classic armed robbery, the two guys could have been from a movie. One man had a black ski mask, beige jacket, loose blood red T-shirt, and baggy jeans on. The other wore a dark blue hoodie with the hood covering his face, and baggy grey sweatpants.

“Give us the money,” Hoodie threatened, gesturing the gun towards her purse.

“Yeah, we promise we won’t hurt ya,” Ski mask said in a sickening sweet way, you could see the greed flickering in his eyes.

“Are you sure about that?” Peter was sitting on the edge of a fire escape above them.

Both thugs noticeably jumped at the new voice that greeted them, looking quite frightened as they looked all around them, trying to figure out where he was. The two men hadn’t noticed that they had inched closer to each other, quivering in fear.

Peter laughed, the sound echoing all throughout the alley. “Why does no one ever look up?”

The muggers looked up only for both to be kicked in the face, landing straight on their butts. Spidey quickly webbed them to the sticky and muddy ground.

“Amateurs.” Peter was slightly annoyed, these thieves had taken up some of his time, and they were harassing this young woman. “Are you alright?”

The woman could only nod, she was still in shock.

“Okay, call the police. They’ll take care of these two.” Spider-Man quickly swung off, he had a long night ahead of him.

…..

After that, Spider-Man dealt with two muggings, a bank robbery, a small fight between minor gangs, a couple of drunks, and a kitten stuck in a tree before he got back to his apartment. The muggings and bank robbery were simple to fix, he just webbed up the felons and left them for the police.

The gang fight got a little bit more complicated, as the gang members of each clan _really_ wanted to kill each other. It took a lot of talking on Spider-Man’s behalf to get them to lower their guns, he ended up having to let them go free, it was the only way the gangs agreed not to unleash any bloodshed. The gangs weren’t the only ones in the precinct, there happened to be a couple civilians around, Peter couldn’t take the risk. He was fine with letting them go, he had already secretly put a spider tracer on each gang leader.

The drunks had actually been more difficult to put up with than the gang members. Spidey had kept trying to take the pair to a police officer or just someone in general that could help them get sober. Unfortunately, the two adamantly slung their arms around him, calling him Joe? According to the lengthy amount of time they spent talking to him, Spider-Man deduced that they had way too much to drink that day. No matter what he did he couldn’t get the men to stop clinging to him. Eventually, he finally managed to find a friendly police officer who offered to take them off the sheepish superhero’s hands and back to their homes.

What surprised Peter the most is how hard it was to get the cat out of the tree. The animal had hated him, and he had no idea why. At first, he had tried coaxing it down the tree, he figured it’d be more of a hassle for the both of them if he had to climb up there. Regrettably, the cat refused his pleas. Spider-Man had to go up the tree and bring the screeching animal down. His old homemade suit would have been torn to bits if he had been wearing it. Fortunately, his new suit happened to be more durable than what he used to wear, so when the cat had attacked him there was no damage made onto his suit. Although, the struggle he had made was all worth it when he gave the cat back to his owner, a little girl at the age of four. The little girl had given Spidey a tight hug and screamed her happiness at the rescue of her pet.

Taking off his mask, Peter glanced at the clock. It was three in the morning. He groaned, if he was any other teen he would have just slept in, it was a Sunday after all. Peter wasn’t a regular teenager, he was Spider-Man, and he just happened to patrol the city every morning.

Some people would say to take break, just relax for once, but the deal was, _he couldn’t_. Breaks get people _killed_. That’s how Uncle Ben died, Peter didn’t stop the crook. Everytime Spider-Man takes a break, there’s a chance someone died because _he wasn’t there_. His motto, with great power comes great responsibility made sure he was there to help, he wouldn’t stand on the sidelines ever again. So, just like every other day, Peter set his alarm for six. At most, he could sleep three hours. He quickly pushed the release button on his chest, tossed his uniform aside, and jumped in bed.

…..

Sure enough, his alarm went off at six, jolting him out of his dreams. The constant shrieks of the alarm making him fall onto the floor.

“Ugh,” Peter grumbled, he had not so graciously landed on the hard wood floor of his room.

Getting up, Peter quickly got ready and into his Spider-Man suit, he had a day of patrolling ahead of him.


	4. Consequences

Peter can honestly say he loved helping the people of New York, even if they don’t quite love him back. Although, sometimes he got quite fed up with the criminals.

“Come on, man. Turn yourself in, trust me it’ll be better for your sake.” Spider-Man was currently trying to negotiate with a bank robber, the man was holding a hostage.

The poor child looked like she was going to cry, the robber holding a fistful of her hair with one hand, and the gun pointed at her head with the other. Peter was trying to give the man a better option, but alas criminals never took the easy way out.

“N-no, I can’t, I have a family, man. They’re counting on me, I lost my job, I can't let them starve.” The robber looked to be about thirty to forty years old, shaking with fear. In doing so, the man slightly lowered the gun.

Spider-Man took the opportunity and webbed the gun to himself. “There’s a better way to go about this, there are people that can help you through this. You don’t need to go around harming people, especially this little girl. You’re just disappointing your family this way, not helping them. Be better, don't resort to this, I get that times get tough, but you don’t succumb to the world, you rise above it.”

The man looked downwards, gently letting go of the little girl, feeling quite guilty. “I… Can’t..” And with that he reached into his back pocket and pulled out some sort of can, spraying it at Spider-Man.

Quickly, Spidey knocked the can out of his hand to the side, pushed the man to the ground, and webbing him up in the process. The man had no real fighting experience at all, making it easy for Spider-Man to win the fight.

“You know… I could have helped you… Now, I can’t do anything.” Peter wished the man had taken him up on his offer. Now the man was going into the system, Peter would have no jurisdiction there. After all, he was a vigilante, meaning he was technically wanted for arrest.

Not saying anything else he walked over to the mystery can the man had sprayed at him, examining it.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Right in Peter’s hands was a can of insecticide.

“I’m not even an insect! I’m an arachnid!”

…..

“Dude, I got detention for being in the computer lab during Homecoming.”

“You did come up with a pretty bad excuse, even I wouldn't come up with that. Besides, you wanted to be the man in the chair.”

“I thought it would be cooler!”

“You still wanted to do it.”

“Yeah….” Ned admitted, pausing afterwards. “Wait! You became an Avenger over the weekend! Bro, it was all over the news! You’ve got to be like the coolest person at this school now.”

“Yeah, but again, I can’t tell anyone. I have a secret identity for a reason. It took you this long to remember I became an Avenger? I thought the media was eating it up. I heard it was everywhere.” Peter and Ned were dodging incoming students in the hallway on their way to eighth period.

“Oh, yeah the media loved it, but they were more interested in criticizing you, especially the Daily Bugle.”

“What?!” Peter was shocked, he thought that after he became an Avenger, people would start respecting him. _I’m just trying to help people,_ he was a little bitter that people weren't appreciating his efforts to help. Then again, he did mistake that guy the other day for a car thief.

“Here, let me pull it up.” Ned got his phone out and handed it to Peter as they stopped outside the doorway to their next class, Algebra II.

Peter glances at the headlines as fast as he could before the bell rang.

_Spider-Man Destroys Neighborhood’s Backyards_

_The Menace Terrifies Young Girls!_

_Shocker Escapes Custody As Soon As Spider-Man Put Him There_

_Spidey Supposedly Breaks Out Shocker?!_

_The Newest Avenger Destroys Property_

_Tony Stark Covering Up Rookie’s Mistakes?_

_Why Hasn't Spider-Man Complied With The Accords?!_

Peter winced, the public doesn't seem to be his best fan currently.

Ned patted Peter on the back, comforting him. “At least Flash is still a fan of Spider-Man…… And you stole his car.”

…..

“Hello, Tony Stark here.” Tony answered his phone.

_“Stark, you added a new Avenger. He has to comply-”_

“General Ross!!! You called me just so I could put you on hold! How kind of you, now I can watch the button blink.”

“ _Stark! Don’t you dare do this again! This is a serious-”_

“And you’re on hold.” Tony pushed the button, amused that he could make General Ross so angry.

…..And then there was pounding on the door.

“Stark! Don’t think that you can fool me again! Now, open up!”

Tony sighed, and went to open the door. “Why hello there. Something important you needed?” Tony snarked at the very annoyed man in front of him.

“I came here as a warning, either Spider-Man follows the accords or he becomes government property. Our federal agents are very excited to see what he is capable of, and for your sake, I wouldn't want to see him become a lab rat.”


	5. The Rise

Tony’s hands clenched into fists. Ross was threatening Peter. _Peter_. The kid who gets so excited for the littlest things. The kid who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. The kid that grew up too fast. _The kid_. Tony knew that Ross was talking about Spider-Man, but to him, it was all the same. It made his blood _boil_.

“What makes you think you can just come in here and _threaten me_ to do what _you want?!_ I did what you wanted, followed the accords, actually listened to someone’s orders _for once!_ I went with all of your shit! And _I knew it was tearing us apart!_ I let my family crash and burn so that the government would be happy! So tell me, _Ross_ , do you _really_ want to continue threatening one of my teammates?”

For awhile, General Ross actually stood there quite shocked to see the outburst in front of him. If only for awhile, as Ross managed to have the _nerve_ to answer that hypothetical question.

“Wow, I’m actually quite appalled that you thought you could refuse a federal demand, Stark. You see, you actually had me feeling bad for you, but unfortunately for _you_ , we have agendas to keep up with. You have _two weeks_ to release the identity of Spider-Man. If you don’t, I’m afraid we’ll have to treat him like the criminal he is.” Ross paused, thinking about adding something else to his warning speech. “Oh, and don’t think I didn't hear about your efforts to rectify the accords. Captain America and his crew are _fugitives_ , _nothing_ you do can change that. You made your grave when you signed, Captain America made his when he didn’t. Vigilantism cannot be tolerated. You can leave this to the government, _Stark._ ”

Tony Stark had never been more infuriated in his life. He was practically shaking with rage. _Idiot_ , he berated himself. Why did he think he could trust the secretary of state? Ross was known for his decisiveness and for getting what he wanted from people. Tony should blame himself, but, _god_ , Ross was such a jerk. He almost had half a mind to punch Ross in the face. The man deserved it, and Tony doubted that it would be the first time that someone had.

It seemed that Ross picked up on Tony’s fury, as his warning tone turned into snark. “Do it, I dare you.”

Tony was so close, so close to losing his temper. He was angry at the world. His father. Himself. Just as he had gained a family that he loved, they were torn away from him. He just had to screw it up. Now Peter is paying the price. There is nothing he could do, and that was eating him alive. Nothing. Unless…

“Just leave, Ross. You’ve gotten your point along. There’s nothing here for you.” Tony was bitter, but he had just gotten a stroke of an ingenious idea.

Now, Ross just had to leave for him to put his plan into action. Peter may not like the idea, but at least he would be safe.

“Two weeks,” Ross couldn't get the threat out enough.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Reveal the identity or Spider-Man gets it. Now get out before I lose it.” Tony was less angry and more anxious to get his plan started.

He wasn’t even sure it would work. Well, of course it would work, but he needed an old ally, and the former friend of his might not want to help. So, slightly shoving Ross out, he slammed the door in his face. Tony briskly walked to his desk, and pulled out an old burner phone. Shutting a door behind him, Tony locked himself into one of the many private conference rooms located in the Avengers facility.

Looking at the phone now, he felt a little remorseful for not calling him sooner, but all that pain from his mothers death had resurfaced. His father never seemed to ever give him a second glance or thought, his mother on the other hand, she truly cared about him. She loved him with all her heart. So when he found out who had killed his mother in cold blood, he lost it. To top it off, his best friend had refused to admit to him that he had known all along. So, Tony could say that he had a pretty good excuse for putting off this confrontation as long as he had.

He had already created a new prototype shield as amends for when they would finally make up and get over their issues. At least the shield will be getting some use out of it. To be frank, Tony wasn't even sure he would get around to calling him. Although, this call technically wasn't even for him. He needed to do this. _For Peter_. It was the only choice left. Taking a deep breath, he dialed the only number saved on the burner phone.

“Hello? Yeah, this is Tony. Look, I need a favor. You know Spider-Man? The kid I brought to the airport? Yes, the one from Queens. He’s in trouble and I need your help.”

_If only he didn’t._

…..

“You got what I need?”

“Pretty much everything,”

“Pretty much?” A man wearing a black jacket with yellow sleeves questionably glowered at his short and stubby companion.

“Hey! It takes awhile to make these gadgets. They are complex pieces of technology, not just anyone can piece together alien and human tech. I couldn't get everything together in such a short amount of time, but I got what you will need.” His friend handed him what looked to be yellow and orange armor.

“Good. The Spider is going to get what’s coming to him, one way or another.”

“This will definitely do the trick, I had to tinker around with it for awhile before I got it to work. Any attack from Spider-Man will immediately be absorbed, then thrown back at him. You’ll basically be _invincible_. Almost like a mutant.”

…..

“Please? I know, I’m wrong.” Tony paused, interrupted by the person on the other side. “Yes, I was wrong. Don’t make me retract that apology, and this is an apology. You’re not getting a better one out of me.”

Tony was exasperated, he knew when he was being toyed with. Besides, his friend would never outright refuse a plea for help, he was too patriotic. _Really patriotic._ He would wear the flag if he had too, in fact, he wore already wore parts of it.

“This is _urgent._ How urgent? Like someone’s going to be dissected if you don’t come over here and get him out of the country. Yeah, and I don’t think we want another Weapon X. One already gives me a migraine, and he stinks up my tower.”


	6. Mending Broken Bridges

“Pucker! Puny Pete!”

_Yay, more nicknames._ Peter sarcastically thought to himself, slamming his locker shut. He was getting ready to bolt through the crowd to the exit when a hand on his shoulder stopped him firmly in place.

“So, have you heard about the new girl?” Flash smirked knowingly at his rival.

“Uh…No. Can I leave now?” Peter wanted to get a few hours of patrolling in before Happy came and picked him up. It was a Friday after all. He knew Happy told him to be waiting as soon as he got out of school but the good people of New York needed Spider-Man.

Peter assumed that since he had already packed his bag the night before, and it took quite a bit of time to drive from the Compound to New York, he could fit approximately an hour in before Happy got annoyed. Hopefully, Happy would be patient. Peter wouldn’t put it past the man to leave him behind, even if it was his job to be a chauffeur.

Flash huffed. “If you haven’t, then you’ve been living in a ditch. Come on, you have to know something.”

Peter was getting frustrated, Flash clearly wanted to prove that he was better than him. It didn’t matter what it was, Flash always needed something to hold over Peter’s head.

“No, I don’t. To be honest, I don’t care. Do I look like the most popular guy in the school? No. So why are you really here?” Peter _really_ needed to leave now if he wanted to fit some patrolling in.

“Actually, I’m showing the new girl around, _Flash_.”

Peter and Flash both turned to see MJ standing with a blonde girl around their own age.

“I am Felicia’s student body ambassador and I am to show her around the school. Now, if you two idiots would be so kind to get out of our way?” MJ gestured to the school’s exit. The blonde next to her, Felicia, laughed quietly at the sheepish expressions on the boys faces.

“See? Problem solved. Now, I’ll be on my way…” Peter trailed off as he started walking away.

“Wait, if you wouldn’t mind,” the new girl nodding to MJ, “I would like them to come with us, it would be good for me to meet some of the students here.” She smiled at Peter and Flash.

_Oh great, this is taking way too much time._ Peter thought to himself, annoyed that no one would let him leave.

…..

“Hey, kid, call me back when you get this. This is urgent.”

…..

“Kid? I know Happy’s already bringing you to the compound today, but _I need you to call me._ ”

…..

“Fine. You’re not answering, regular teenage rebellion, I get it. Just pack your bag with everything you need for a long trip. I’ll see you when you get here.”

…..

Herman Schultz pulled on his boots, gauntlets, and his new suit given to him by Phineas Mason, or the Tinkerer, as he was called in their little group of alien tech scavengers. He loved the feeling it gave him, the cool texture of the gloves, the heavy weight of insulated padding, and the _power._ He may not have been the original Shocker, but at least he knew how to follow orders and use his power wisely, unlike his crew-mate.

Toomes was going to give them all the means to settle down after he hijacked Tony Stark’s cargo plane, but those plans came to an end after Spider-Man put Vulture and him in jail. They spent months planning for that heist, years stealing tech, and it was all ruined by _one_ brat. He just wanted to get the money. That’s all he needed. _They were so close._ He was going to get that spider one way or another. He would not let some punk kid get in the way of him and his big score.

He was going to get his money, and if a spider got in his way? He’s going to exterminate it.

…..

Steve wasn’t quite sure what he was doing. Well, he knew he was helping the spider-kid, or spider-ling, or whatever his name was. Tony kept using all sorts of different names for the kid and it was giving him a headache just thinking about it, but _what was he doing?_ Here he was, sitting in the compound, risking everything he has put into defying the Accords. For all he could know Ross was in the room next to him. Tony could still be angry at him.

_“Sorry, Tony. You know I wouldn’t do this if I had any other choice. But he’s my friend.” He was desperate, he wanted Tony to know why this was so important to him. Bucky had needed him, and Steve wasn’t there for him when he was brainwashed by Hydra. He wasn’t going to let Bucky be framed for something he didn’t do. Not when Steve has the opportunity to do something._

_“So was I.” The betrayal was clear in Tony’s voice._

Steve winced at the memory, but hopefully he could be there for the kid. Maybe the next generation of heroes could learn from their mistakes, have less issues. Maybe they won’t split apart, or crumble under pressure. Steve brought a hand up to his forehead as he felt a slight wetness near his eyes. 

_“This isn’t going to change what happened.”_

_“I don’t care. He killed my mom.”_

Steve looked up as Tony walked in the room.

“Ugh, the kid is not answering his phone.” The billionaire threw his hands up in frustration. “What kind of teenager doesn’t answer their phone?! I mean aren’t they supposed to be on them all the time?”

…..

“Uh, I’d love to stay and help but I really have to go. You know, Stark internship and everything. Bye.” Peter stuttered awkwardly, he never was good at talking to girls.

The new girl waved at him with a smile. “It was nice meeting you, Peter.”

“See ya, loser,” MJ was already walking away, with Felicia and Flash right behind her.

As he was walking, Flash turned his head back to look at Peter and quietly mouthed with a smirk “I win.”

Peter scowled, _it wasn’t even a competition! I am not flirting with the new girl, and I don’t even have time for a girlfriend. I’m Spider-Man, and I’m responsible for this city._ He quickly glanced at the watch on his wrist and he sighed, he definitely did not have time for a full patrol. _But, that doesn’t mean I cant swing back to my apartment._

And with a smirk he went running off into the nearest alley.

And Spider-Man came running out. With a flick of his wrist he took off into the sky, swinging from building to building.

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to start cross-posting on Fanfiction.net and AO3, so that means uploading my older fics. So, all my fics will prob be up on this site completely in the next few weeks. However, I'm under the same username on Fanfiction if you want to check out my works there.
> 
> This fic is actually one of my oldest works and my most popular work on Fanfiction, but I also started this fic before I even started high school so the writing varies a lot from chapter to chapter because there are huge gaps of time between writing them. So, the writing in the first couple chapters are not going to be up to the same level of the later chapters. I mean, I'm still not done writing it on Fanfiction too so who know how this story will turn out lol. 
> 
> I'm going to update this story once a day until it catches up to the one on Fanfiction, but if you want you can go ahead and read what's posted on there if this is not completely updated yet. And who knows? Maybe I'll have a new chapter written soon after taking like a year break from this story :)
> 
> Anyways, feel free to let me know what you thought of this fic, and thanks for reading!
> 
> Ch 1 originally posted 7/6/2017 on Fanfiction.Net (I don't really know what dates I posted the other chapters other than the latest update but this is when I first started the story)


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